


What We're Supposed To Be

by Paranoid_Affections



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Emotionally Awkward Keith, Falling In Love, First Everything for Keith, First Time, Getting Together, Hints of Shidge, M/M, Pining Lance (Voltron), Primarily a Klance fic, SHIDGE, Soul Bond, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Soulmates in Space, klance, non-binary Pidge, pidge is savage, space boyfriends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2018-08-16 15:53:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8108401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paranoid_Affections/pseuds/Paranoid_Affections
Summary: "We’re rivals! Not Soulmates! We’re supposed to be at each other’s throats!"ORThe stupid space boyfriends soulmates fic no one asked for. A few of the lines of dialogue were pulled from a Bitter Soulmates OTP post on Tumblr that helped inspire this fic.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [running_with_luck](https://archiveofourown.org/users/running_with_luck/gifts).



> Dedicated to my very own Lance, and the love of my life @running_with_luck
> 
> Thank you for your interest in reading my crazy pile of fluff and feelings~!!! I've had a lot of fun on this ride so far and am super excited to be sharing the first part finally!!! :D
> 
> This is mostly a Klance fic, but be warned there will be undertones of Shiro/Pidge as we go on! But I can promise those parts will remain PG! Otherwise, this is T for now but will probably get turned to M towards the end~ :3
> 
> I'm just here for the good time and fuzzy feelings, so all ship hate will be ignored! <3
> 
> Now that that's out of the way ONWARD TO THE KLANCE~!!!!!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!!!! <3

It was supposed to be an easy mission, a simple extraction of minerals to replenish some of Coran’s supplies. In and out. Easy peasy.

Keith should have known that was a lie based simply on the fact that he and Lance were the ones chosen to execute it. But here they were, lost in an unknown alien space jungle, fighting as usual. To make matters worse, their comms were temporarily out of range so there was no one else on the line to interrupt them from each other.

“I swear, it’s just at the top of this hill! Or it’s supposed to be…” Lance tried to sound sure of himself because he couldn’t lose to Keith, but they both knew he was full of shit.

“You said that about the last three hills we’ve gone over.” Keith grumbled but trudged along behind the blue paladin anyway. It was hot and muggy to add to their discomfort, and even wasting breath on arguing was putting Keith on edge more than usual. Lately he and Lance had actually started getting along, but the friendship was still fragile and under duress and discomfort they seemed to slip back into their old habit of bickering.

“It’s not like you’ve got any better ideas!” Lance shot back hotly, annoyed at himself and annoyed at Keith and the mission and life and pretty much everything. Why did saving the universe have to suck so much? His head seemed to be swimming from the heat and moisture of the jungle. And if Lance was being honest with himself, he hated arguing with Keith these days. Where as before it had felt fun and exhilarating to bait his fellow paladin, now it just seemed to make Lance feel sad and leave a sinking feeling of regret in the pit of his stomach. 

“I don’t have the navigational sensor that’s guiding us, now do I?” Keith gritted out between huffs of breath as their ascent got a lot steeper. If these minerals or whatever weren’t up there Keith was going to murder whoever gave them these coordinates and Lance. But probably not in that order.

“It’s not my fault this thing is very unspecific! You try translating blinking dot to Ancient temple of that mineral you crave!” Lance huffed, stuffing the useless device away as the hill became steep enough that he was using his hands to pull himself up vines and roots in their path. Thankfully it wasn't too far before the terrain leveled out just a bit and Lance stopped to catch his breathe.

“You're an idiot.” Keith mumbled right before he bumped into Lance as he wasn’t expecting the other boy to stop suddenly. 

This earns the red paladin a scoff and a “Says the one bumping into me.” Lance can’t help a playful knock of shoulders even with both of their seemingly sour moods.

Keith glares but doesn't comment as Lance begins moving through the thick forest floor again. Something seems to have caught his eye as he picks up the pace muttering, “Fucking finally” under his breathe. 

A strangely futuristic looking temple seems to emerge out of the mist and trees, looking shockingly out of place. When Lance had heard Ancient Temple he was hoping for some Indiana Jones fun adventure type shit, not another space age nightmare. 

Keith on the other hand, was less worried about cool adventure and more worried about the knowing feeling entering the pit of his stomach. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” He whispered low enough he thought Lance wouldn’t catch it as they slowly approached the entrance. No such luck.

“Why, you scared? We’ve faced down the Galra empire and you can’t handle a deserted temple?” Lance tried to tease, but his face quickly fell at Keith’s response.

“Who says it’s deserted?” Keith reasons, catching up to Lance and darting ahead of him onto a path that lead them straight to the futuristic temple. Keith wanted a chance to scope out their surroundings before Lance had time to do something everyone would regret. “Lance, don’t touch…” Keith started, but the blue paladin had already strode forward to rap his knuckles loudly against the front door. “Anything…” he finished lamely as the door swung open allowing them access.

“Loosen up Keith! It’s a temple! What’s the worst that could happen?” Lance threw a cocky grin over his shoulder before entering, completely missing Keith’s flustered expression as the red paladin followed behind him. 

Eyes darting everywhere in suspicion Keith muttered, “I don’t want to find out,” but still went inside. 

A long hallway stretched before the paladins, the lights like dancing fire coming to life and lighting up as they came inside. Their pathway clearly lit, Lance turned to Keith and shrugged before continuing. “It looks like an inviting place. I don’t see any traps or anything.” Lance reasoned.

“The point of a trap is that you’re not supposed to see it. Be more cautious, idiot.” Keith reprimanded him, but Lance ignored him as he spread out to search for what Coran needed.

Lance got their special scanner back out and tapped it roughly against his left hand to see if it would get the signal working better. Not much, but from what he could tell they were on the right track. The hall they were in seemed to take a sharp decent a short ways into the entrance as though they were heading deeper into the mountain. The flames glowed an eerie turquoise color that seemed to cast everything including the paladins in its harsh light. 

Eventually their path brought them to a larger cavernous room that formed the center of the temple. “Woah! This place is huge!” Lance, master of the obvious, stated in awe as he took in the sights. The sleek futuristic designs of the entrance and pathway faded into a much more organic inner chamber with high ceilings. Rows of stone benches seemed to fill the chamber, all facing a center clearing where a humble rock and moss covered fountain stood. A mysterious dazzling light reflected off of its surface, commanding the attention of all in the room. 

Keith tore his gaze away from the centerpiece to look for what they came here for and spied an alcove off to his left. The small space was brimming with an eclectic mixture of herbs and plants growing right out of the wall that Keith had surely never seen before. But out of the whole bunch he recognized one, the one Coran had shown his a photo of and given him instructions on how to harvest. 

“Found it!” Keith called to Lance, hoping in vain that the other boy would stop exploring if he had already found what they’d come for. It would take the red paladin a few uninterrupted minutes to collect and bottle enough samples for Coran. 

Wasting no time, Keith got out the sampling kit he’d been given and carefully picked out the plant he needed. He wanted to hurry as it occurred to him that the whole place looked rather well kept and someone or something could be returning at any time. As paladins of Voltron and peace in the universe it would probably look bad to get caught stealing herbs, but it had taken them long enough to find this place they didn't exactly have time to find anyone and ask what with the whole universe to save. 

Lance barely registered Keith’s call, mesmerized by the sparkling fountain that playfully splashed in the center. After the heat of that jungle Lance couldn’t think of a more welcome sight and dragged his tired body towards the fresh water. A quick scan confirmed the water wasn’t contaminated, and he quickly peeled his entire helmet off to take a breather. 

“Whew! That was a hike! Eh, Keith?” Lance tried to engage the other paladin in further conversation but received a noncommittal grunt in reply as the other was busy and focused elsewhere. Lance hardly spared the other a glance as he focused his sights on the cool water, setting his helmet on the nearest bench. A quick look around came up empty for any sort of cup or anything to drink out of, but Lance undeterred just shrugged and cupped his hands up to the flowing water. Even through his flight suit he could tell it was cold, having come from deep within the mountain springs. Lance splashed his face with the cool water, sighing in delight at the refreshing feeling.

“Aw man, you gotta come over here and rinse off when you’re done with that. I thought we were gonna die out there!” Lance was clearly feeling better as his overdramatic side returned full force with his relief from the heat. He shook his head vigorously, tilting it back in delight as the cool water ran down his neck and into his suit and hair. 

Keith nearly did a double take when he glanced over at Lance, his eyes getting larger as he registered what the blue paladin was doing. “Lance! What are you doing?!” he hissed, clearly not amused. Keith furiously returned to finishing his samples, securing the lid of the last jar he needed to fill. He quickly packed everything back into the kit, shooting glares at Lance while he rushed through the end of his work. 

“Cooling off, what does it look like?” Lance shot back, clearly seeing nothing wrong here.

“Did you forget we’re in some mystic ancient temple?! That could be holy water or an alter or something! Don’t touch it!” Keith reprimanded as he stood and tucked the kit away safely. “I’m done. Let’s get out of here before you desecrate anything else.” He finished with a heavy sigh turning for the exit.

“Calm down, I scanned it and its fine. Wait a tick, I want a drink.” Lance groused back, already turning and cupping his hands to take more water from the fountain to bring to his lips.

A chill ran down Keith’s spine at his partner’s words but even as he turned shouting, “Lance, wait! No!” he knew it was too late. Keith could only watch from a distance as Lance took a huge gulp of the clear water. 

Blue eyes fell closed in bliss as the cool water quenched what felt like the greatest thirst of Lance’s life. He greedily gulped down the handful, ready for a second and reaching towards the fountain again when he felt struck dizzy by a blinding pain. Too surprised even to cry out, Lance simply doubled over in pain and confusion. 

While Keith had been worried about Lance getting poisoned, he hadn’t expected his own vision to begin to swim out of focus at the same time as he felt a sort of burning pain. He only managed a single step toward the other paladin and the fountain before his vision faded and Keith blacked out completely between two of the benches. 

As quickly as the pain had come it passed, and Lance came to his senses on his knees, hands clutching the base of the fountain. He shook his head to clear it, looking in Keith’s direction as he heard rather than saw the other boy collapse. “Keith?!” Lance called out in alarm, his blood running cold as he scrambles to his feet and searched everywhere frantically for signs of an intruder or someone who could have hurt Keith. Rushing forward to help his fallen comrade, Lance saw no signs of other life or foul play. “Keith!” he called louder, shaking the red paladin’s shoulder frantically, his actions laced with worry.

Not getting a response had Lance issuing a string of curses as he hauled the other boy up and against a stone bench. Lance was officially freaked out and they couldn’t afford stay here any longer anyway. They had to get back. “Keith, buddy, not funny. You gotta wake up for me man. We need to go! Come on! Keith!!!” Lance whined, worried as he leaned closer to see if the other boy was even breathing. Lance put his ear up to Keith’s chest and listened, confirming a heartbeat at least. 

Relief hit him like bullet train, but Lance hardly had time to dwell on it before he was scrambling to his feet to grab his helmet and pulling Keith up with him. Unconscious Keith proved to be even more difficult than when he was awake, in Lance’s opinion. It took a few moments of maneuvering for Lance to get most of the red paladin’s weight on his back and then he was left with the difficult task of walking uphill to the exit. “This would be a lot easier if you would wake up.” Lance accused under his breath, trying to find a balance between getting the hell out of there and not dying while lugging an entire paladin. 

Still, worry gnawed at his gut as Lance finally caught sight of the temple exit. What if something horrible was wrong with Keith? Why hadn’t he paid more attention to what his fellow paladin had been doing? Sure, Keith was a capable guy, but what if he’d gotten into something dangerous without realizing it and Lance was the only one who might remember something except he wouldn’t because he didn’t pay attention? It occurred to Lance that he was probably overreacting, but he couldn’t seem to shake the swirl of intrusive thoughts as he rushed out into the muggy jungle once again. 

He didn’t think he was capable of running all the way back with the extra weight, but he recalled a small clearing just ahead that he could get Blue to on autopilot. Lance paused, leaning himself and Keith against a tree as he tapped away a few coordinates to get Blue headed to their location. He didn’t dare set the other paladin down in the dense forest, unsure of what pretty much anything was and still paranoid about possible life forms. Plus he didn’t want to expose Keith to anything else unusual that might further exacerbate his condition. How dare Keith make him worry like this?!

With a huff Lance took off for the clearing, spotting Blue in the distance as he trudged along with the red paladin on his back. Sheer adrenaline had gotten him this far, but with their ride in sight the shock was wearing off and Lance just felt exhausted physically and sick to his stomach emotionally. His worry for Keith was overpowering, and all he could focus on was getting back to the ship and getting his friend to the medical bay. This being responsible for people’s life thing sucked. 

Lance could have cried with relief as Blue landed in front of them and he hauled the two of them through the lions open mouth. They’d be ok, somehow. He barely remembered to set the auto pilot for Blue and then Red before collapsing in a heap.

 

* * *

As if coming out of a fog, Keith heard voices arguing very far away. It wasn’t like he usually felt when waking up from one of the Altean medical pods, which at least told Keith he wasn’t in any kind of mortal danger. Still, he felt incredibly groggy and found he couldn’t remember how he’d gotten back to the ship. He peeled his eyes open, and sat up, causing the chorus of voices to cease temporarily.

“Keith! You’re awake!” Allura greeted him with a smile, and no one seemed willing to interrupt her for the moment. “How are you feeling?”

He took stock of his body and shrugged. “Fine, just a bit groggy.” Keith didn’t offer anything else as he looked around at everyone watching him. He suddenly felt a bit self-conscious. Why were they all starring? “What happened?” he ventured, cautiously. “How long was I out?”

Allura opened her mouth as if to answer, then shut it promptly, turning to Coran who stepped forward. Keith gulped, this couldn’t be good. “Only about an hour but we’re still trying to figure exactly what happened.” Coran said, trying to sound cheerful and normal, like this wasn’t something to be concerned about. 

“I carried you back to the lions, thank you very much.” Lance announced as though he should be awarded a medal. Keith flashed a glare in his direction, feeling as though this was all somehow Lance’s fault for touching things he wasn’t supposed to.

“Yes, we know how you got here,” Coran continued, “What we are still trying to discern is exactly what happened at the temple. Can you tell us what you remember?” the Altean asked gently, encouraging Keith to fill in any details he could. 

Stalling for time, Keith muttered, “What did Lance tell you?” rather testily as he arched his back into a stretch. It was all coming back to him slowly, but he there was no memory of how he’d gotten here. Had Lance really carried him?

“The truth!” Lance interjected immediately, cutting Coran off. “That you got what we needed, and then you passed out on me! Not cool, by the way!” he reprimanded Keith. “But I have no idea what you got into or what made you pass out or whatever! I didn’t see anything, no one else was there!”

“Yes Lance, we know.” Coran assured the energetic boy, who seemed mollified for the moment at least.

“Did he tell you about the fountain?” Keith challenged, eyeing Lance as he did so. 

“That’s not important!” Lance squawked, but was quickly drown out by Allura, Coran and Shiro all asking questions at the same time. 

“You just don’t want it to be important because it would make everything your fault.” Keith hedged.

“How is you passing out possibly my fault? You were like, halfway across the room Keith! Come on!” Lance argued back, honestly not seeing how any of it had to do with him. 

“For the last time, both of you, What Fountain?” Allura cut in finally, both paladins shrinking back shamefully at her glare. Keith motioned for Lance to say something, but they seemed to have a silent war about it before Lance finally gave in.

“There was a fountain in the temple, but I checked to make sure the water was fresh!” Lance explained, clearly still not seeing the problem.

“Yea, a fountain in the center of the temple. It was clearly important!” Keith countered, still flabbergasted the blue paladin could be so dense. 

“Lance.” Allura asked, deceptively calmly. “What did you do to the fountain?” 

“I didn’t do anything to it!” Lance hedged, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Lance.” Allura’s expression, as well as those of the other paladins, clearly suggested they didn’t believe that for a second.

“You can’t even blame us for not believing that.” Pidge cut in from across the room, not bothering to look up from their laptop.

“What?! I didn’t do anything to the fountain! Like I said, I checked to make sure the water was safe and then I just… splashed some water on my face…” Lance finished off lamely, beginning to realize his actions didn’t sound as good on paper. 

“And.” Keith prompted, his eyebrows arched accusatorily.

Lance gulped, his eyes shifting everywhere but the faces of his comrades. He quickly whispered something unintelligible. 

“I’m sorry, we didn’t quite catch that.” Allura cut in, leveling Lance with a look he could feel even if he refused to look at her.

“Ugh, ok I drank some water. But in my defense, it was fucking hot as hell out there!” Lance flopped back into one of the seats, defeated. Even Hunk groaned at his friend.

“Lance.” Allura just shook her head, sounding disappointed. “As a paladin of Voltron you should show more respect for other cultures. You don’t know what you could be interfering with. Please show more… restraint in the future.” 

“Maybe you should send us with water when we go into the jungle then,” Lance grumbled under his breath, expecting the fierce logic of the princess but still not enjoying being on the receiving end of it. It was just some water. Geez. 

Keith looked properly smug, the bastard. Lance wanted to wipe that expression off his face, but all he could was clench a frustrated fist at his own side. 

Unbeknownst to them while they were arguing Coran was already typing away, one hand coming up to pull at his mustache as he contemplated his findings. “Hmmm. Do you recall anything else Keith?” the Altean asked, still trying to piece everything together. 

With a heavy sigh, Keith tried to think back through the haze still clouding his mind. “Just a blinding pain right before I blacked out.” Keith unconsciously brought his hand up to rub the spot on his arm that had felt like fire on his skin. It didn’t hurt now, but Keith’s brow furrowed as he realized he sensed a new energy had taken root there. Still in his pilot suit, Keith began frantically peeling off the layers. 

“Hmm, now that you mention it I remember a sharp pain…” Lance trailed off in thought.

“And you didn’t think that was important to mention before now?” Keith asked rolling his eyes as he unzipped his body suit. 

“Well I was kind of passing out at the time so… Woah! What are you doing?!” Lance exclaimed, finally having noticed Keith’s state of half dress. The red paladin ignored him, instead rolling up his right T-shirt sleeve to reveal what anyone who didn’t know Keith would think was a tattoo. It was a simple silhouette of a lion jumping, but not one Keith remembered putting there himself. “Uh, what’s that?” Lance asked, putting to words what everyone was thinking. 

“Oh Quiznak.” Coran muttered, turning back to his information display to reread something he must have gotten wrong the first time. 

“Lance, take off your suit.” Keith ordered with a determined glint in his eye. 

“Excuse me?” Lance couldn’t compute the idea of Keith asking him to undress, his mind immediately jumping to different circumstances under which Keith might say that to him. He couldn’t help the blush that spread across his face without his permission at Pidge’s “Wow, get a room you two.”

Keith huffed in annoyance elaborating, “Where did you feel the burning sensation? Show me. Take off your suit.” The red paladin looked ready to rip it off himself, and Lance tried to actively ignore how that made him feel.

Understanding where Keith was going with this was like a light bulb that only left a feeling of growing dread in Lance’s stomach, but he did as he was asked. As soon as he tried to focus on it, Lance could feel a certain buzzing under the surface of his skin. Seriously freaked out, he pulled his own suit down past his thighs to reveal a mark identical to Keith’s on his right thigh. 

“Ok, this just got weird.” Hunk said, panic clearly evident in his voice. 

“Coran what is happening?” Lance all but squawked as he finished kicking off the under suit, clearly no longer concerned about anyone’s state of dress.

“It seems you’ve been given the mark of soulmates.” The Altean delivered the news calmly, nodding sagely like he agreed with the assessment. Which was crazy.

Lance started to laugh, long and loud for a few moments before the mood of the room got back to him and he realized no one else found this funny. “That’s a good one, Coran. Very funny.” Lance tried desperately.

“A good one what?” Coran asked, genuinely confused by the Earth slang and the very idea of humor.

“Oh god he’s not joking.” Keith stuttered softly glancing between the marks he and Lance now bore. 

“Woah, woah, woah. Hold on. Coran, my main man. Something’s wrong with this shit system. We’re not soulmates.” Lance said like it was obvious, gesturing at the Altean information network. “Your info’s got to just be… outdated or something.” 

“Our tech may be old, but our systems are up to date with cultural information. In fact, I’ve seen this sort of soul bonding once before. You two have indeed been marked with identical soul marks.” Before anyone could interrupt him, he held up a hand to stave off any questioning. “I’m not sure about any more than that at this moment, it seems we will need to contact local sources who know more about this mystical bond than we do.”

Allura immediately nodded in agreement. “We will anchor here for now, and be glad we seem to be safe for the moment.”

Realizing things were actually serious, Pidge turned almost gleeful. “Oh my god, they’re serious. This is karmic!” They cackled, clearly having no pity for Keith and Lance in this situation. They deserved each other in the green paladin’s opinion. Only a firm glance from Shiro had Pidge quieting down at all, but the amused smirk remained firmly in place.

“You can’t be serious! Shiro!” Lance threw a pleading look to his last hope for sanity. But even Shiro just shook his head, not about to argue with the princess.

“We’re rivals! Not Soulmates! We’re supposed to be at each other’s throats!” Lance argued, turning to Keith himself who couldn’t seem to look at him. 

“Uh… yea.” Keith added lamely, eyes on the floor. “Can we just… forget about this?” he pleaded to his peers. Inside, his emotions were a hurricane ravaging what little was left of his self control and sanity all in one go. This couldn’t be happening. He felt raw an exposed in a way that not even being brain melded with his fellow paladins had made him feel. 

Lance tried to pretend like Keith’s words didn’t sting, but he’d always been a terrible liar even to himself. Even if he wasn’t advocating for this per se, a small part of him wanted Keith to at least care that they were like life bonded or some weird shit. 

“Afraid not.” Coran said sympathetically. “According to ancient customs, once one partner cleanses and drinks from the fountain its magical properties reveal their true other half. This can sometimes cause unconsciousness as your body is being opened to a flood of forces it’s not used to, which is probably why Keith blacked out,” He explained. 

Keith immediately returned to glaring at Lance full force. He knew that idiot was to blame for this somehow. “Are you sure it’s not just because I was the only one in the room when someone decided to perform an ancient bonding ritual?” Keith gritted out, eyes locked on Lance’s the whole time. 

Was it getting hot in here, or was it just Lance?

“Mmm no, that’s not how these things work. There are plenty of cases of someone drinking from the fountain to reveal no mark because they didn’t have a soulmate.” Coran explained. “It’s just coincidence you were the only one in the room. Even if you had been on Earth, the mark would have revealed itself as would have Lance’s.”

“Oh.” Keith seemed to deflate at the information, his own cheeks turning pink as the full implications really began to set it. Lance was truly his soulmate? It wasn’t some fucked up coincidence? It was a lot to wrap his emotionally challenged head around. 

“And there’s no way to make this go away?” Lance asked desperately. 

It was Keith’s turn to feel wounded, unsure himself why Lance’s desperation seemed to stab at his heart so. 

“Not once it has appeared, no. Though there may be some requirements to complete the bond, it’s unclear. I’ll need someone who has more intimate knowledge of this temple and bonding.” Coran concluded his findings.

“I really wish someone had mentioned all this before we went into the temple.” Lance muttered in defeat, but this only caused everyone in the entire room to glare at him.

“Lance.” Hunk muttered in the way only an old friend can to convey how stupid they thought you were being.

“Or here’s a team lesson! Maybe just don’t touch things that don’t belong to you.” Pidge added helpfully, with a knowing glance tossed in Hunk’s direction. 

“I said I was sorry, Pidge!” Hunk whined, forgiven for his crimes but clearly going to hear about them until his dying day.

As the team conversation veered away from the topic at hand, Keith felt the need to escape suddenly and strongly. The day and the current company was overwhelming his thoughts and he needed to be alone. He hopped down off the table, ignoring the uncertain looks his team sent him as he left with a pathetic excuse or two tossed over his shoulder. 

* * *

That evening found Lance in his room, wide awake and restless. He wondered if Keith was having the same trouble sleeping. 

No matter what he tried, his thoughts seemed to circulate back to the same person: Keith. Once thought to be his greatest rival, now his greatest love? It sounded like a bad Shakespearian play. 

Thankfully Lance has good friends, who know him better than he knows himself some days. There’s a solid knock on the door, and Lance doesn’t even bother to respond before the door is swinging open to reveal Pidge and Hunk with snacks in tow. 

“Wow, night one and already perfecting the art of pining. I’m impressed, Lance.” Pidge didn’t hold the savagery back as they entered and made themselves comfy on the end of Lance’s bed. 

Hunk meanwhile, seemed in mother hen mode and had to resist to urge to fluff Lance’s pillows and tuck him in. Troubles of the heart were never easy for his friend back on Earth and Hunk was honestly surprised the emotional fall out wasn’t worse yet. “I brought a bowl of salty snack-like substance and Pidge found us a strange Altean candy that’s like a cross between a M&M and a Lemonhead. Sorry we seem to be fresh out of ice cream.” Hunk offered the bowl to his friend, who absently took a handful.

“Well it’s not popcorn…” Lance critiqued but shrugged and stuffed it down his gullet anyway. “Hm. Not bad.” And maybe it was just his need for comfort food, but he could almost pretend he back at the dorms in the Garrison pouring out his bleeding heart to his two best friends like he used to while they ate unhealthy junk. It was a time-tested tradition, one he didn’t realize how much he needed until right now.

“So Keith.” Pidge cut through Lance’s self-indulgent thoughts with a no-nonsense tone. Hunk tossed a ‘be nice’ glance at the green paladin but only looked back unimpressed. “What? This isn’t even the first time one of these sessions has been about Keith. I think I’m allowed to be rightfully low on patience.” 

“Yea but it’s serious this time.” Hunk tried to whisper to Pidge, which was sweet of the fella, but Lance was right there.

“I can hear you Hunk.” Lance said, deadpan.

“Well it is! It’s not everyday you find out you’re magically engaged to someone!” Hunk cried out, which nearly made Lance’s eyes bulge out of his skull.

“WHAT? Who said anything about being engaged?” Lance’s heart threatened to rip itself out of chest it started beating so fast. 

Pidge, most helpful Pidge, could only snicker at them both. “I’d say this is even more serious than an engagement. If you don't like your husband, you can divorce them. I don’t get the impression there’s any take-back-sies on soulmate bonds. Just saying.” This was punctuated by popping a few candies into their mouth with a wicked grin.

“Not helpful Pidge!” Lance squawked, rounding the corner towards full blown panic attack.

“Really though Lance, what are you so worried about? It’s not exactly a secret that you like Keith.” Pidge reasoned, always a firm believer that logic was the best solution to any problem.

“It’s a secret from Keith!” Lance shouted back, mortified at times like these that his friends knew him so well. He covered his face with his hands. 

“Only because he’s the single densest human being in the entire universe.” Pidge muttered so only Hunk could hear. Luckily for them Lance was too deep in his pit of self pity to notice Hunk snorting into the snack bowl.

“Do you have any idea how humiliated I would be if he found out? Especially after today and all of this… this soulmate crap!” Lance practically shrieked all of this at top volume. 

“I don’t see the problem, though. If you’re soulmates aren’t you supposed to like each other?” Hunk asked around a mouthful of snacky goodness.

“In theory! But the fatal flaw in your argument is that this is Keith we’re talking about!” Lance was still yelling much too loudly for indoors, but neither of his friends bothered to complain much too used to his outbursts. And really, he at least had probable cause this time.

“So?” Hunk ever so innocently asked.

“So? So?! Hunk, buddy, this is Keith! He would never like me like me. It’s like the worst soulmate assignment in the history of soulmate assignments. No hope. Zero. Nada. None!” Lance bemoaned before stuffing another fistful of snacks in his mouth.

“While previously I might have agreed with you,” Pidge cut in, “I think the fact that you’re soulmates, which we’re going to assume is true for the purpose of this conversation, might indicate that Keith does have feelings for you. Or at least, has the potential to have feelings for you. Because I will admit, the guy is hard to read.” Pidge nodded at their own sound assessment. 

“Right, like Pidge said. So… you should tell him how you feel!” Hunk encouraged with way too much enthusiasm.

“Hmmm, I don’t know guys… he didn't seem all that enthusiastic about the idea this afternoon.” Lance tried to reason his way out of this right back, though he also really didn’t believe he stood even half a chance with someone like Keith.

“Yea, well neither did you.” Pidge shot back, and Lance had to wince at the truth in that statement.

“Ok, touché.” Lance conceded. “But I’m not even sure Keith is gay you guys.” He whined, actually questioning that fact.

Not even Hunk could hold back a snort of disbelief. “Seriously?” he questioned his best friend, eyebrow raised.

“Keith is gayer than Captain America, dude. And we all know how gay Cap is.” Pidge leveled Lance with a no nonsense look, needing him to understand this simple fact of the universe.

Lance made a half aborted sort of noise, but before he could even get a word out Hunk stepped in to back Pidge up. “Don’t even try to argue, it’s true man.” Hunk at least sounded like he sympathized, and patted Lance on the shoulder in a show of solidarity. “We’re here for you, whatever you decide.” He assured his confused friend.

“Thanks Hunk, but I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be deciding. I’m not even sure I get a choice.” Lance trailed off, obviously bothered by the thought.

“Why do you feel like you don’t have a choice?” Pidge asked, mostly to goad Lance’s feelings out of him. 

The brunet sighed deeply, leaning back in his bunk against the soft pillows. He stared at the ceiling, his words coming slowly and softly. “It just all feels… bigger than me, I guess? I didn’t ask for this mark, even if it’s somehow my fault it’s there. And I can’t make it go away… I’m just supposed to face what it means? Admit my feelings? It just feels forced now… and despite what you guys think it still doesn't feel like a guarantee.” Lance admitted, confused by his own feelings.

“How can it be fated and out of your control, but also not a guarantee?” Pidge tried to rationalize, but Lance just got agitated.

“I don’t know! It just feels wrong to me! And as much as I might like Keith, regardless of whether or not he likes me, there’s a big fucking difference between crushing on someone and as you so eloquently put it something ‘even more serious than an engagement’. It’s not just for fun, this sort of thing, and it’s terrifying.” Lance finished, raw with emotion and vulnerability.

“That… I will actually give you.” Pidge conceded. Thoughts of their own feelings for a certain black paladin came to mind, and in Lance’s position Pidge had to admit they too would feel more than a bit freaked out to suddenly be soul bonded to their crush potentially forever. Romantic, sure, but still terrifying.

“Ok, but… and hear me out on this one Lance… When was the last time you seriously actually liked someone besides Keith? Because while we all know you to be a helpless flirt, I happen to know that’s all bravado and that when you actually like someone you’re a complete mess. And let’s face it, you’ve been kind of obsessed with the guy since pretty much the day you saw him at the Garrison.” Hunk reasoned, and he would know honestly, having listened to all of Lance’s woes over the years. Sure there had been a girl or two in middle school, and may flirtatious attempts with a lot of other people since then, but nothing like his fixation with Keith. Hunk’s starting to see why this all might be true.

Lance wanted to sputter and deny it all, but he simply worried at his lower lip more terrified than ever. What if Keith was The One? He was only 17! Wasn’t that a bit young to be settling down? Not that being a Voltron paladin was settling down exactly but that's neither here nor there. Relationship wise he’d be off the market for good, no more flirting or looking or anything. It was a weird thought to have, but even weirder was Lance’s thoughts of deep indigo eyes and the feeling that he’d be ok with giving all that up if it was for Keith. Oh boy, he was pretty far gone.

With a groan, Lance simply turned on his side and buried his head in a pillow. Stupid friends being stupidly right about everything all the time.

“I think he’s finally hearing us.” Pidge commented, still cheerfully munching on candy. Lance threw a pillow at them, which missed horribly and just left Hunk and Pidge cackling in delight.

Seriously, why did he like these people again?

* * *

When Shiro goes looking for Keith later that evening, he’s unsurprised to find him on the training deck instead of in his room resting. The older paladin patiently waits for Keith to finish his current round of train and for the gladiator to disperse before stepping into the ring. 

It’s obvious the difficulty rating had been amped up considerably but Shiro chooses to comment only with, “Impressive.” 

Keith doesn’t reply or even acknowledge him as he turns his bayard back to its smaller form, tucking it away carefully.

Unperturbed, Shiro presses on asking, “How are you holding up?”

This only garners him a shrug in response, Keith seemingly sunken into his old lone wolf habits. He’d been closed off and guarded like this more often when they had first met, back before the Kerberos mission and it hurt Shiro to see him this way. It was a sure fire sign that Keith was at his most vulnerable.

“Did you eat something today at least?” Shiro ventured, giving Keith a skeptical look. He was always less than impressed when the red paladin forgot to take care of himself, circumstances be damned. “I understand if you don’t want to have contact with the rest of us right now, but please look after yourself or I will.” Shiro said in friendly warning. 

With a huff and furrowed brow, Keith nodded his agreement at least. His shoulders seemed to slump as he finally let the weariness of the day hit him full force. And hunger, though he wouldn’t admit that to Shiro out loud.

“Look Keith…” Shiro started, unsure how to continue. Keith sent him a warning look, but Shiro pressed on, for the good of the team. “Can we skip the part where you pretend like you don’t have feelings for Lance and talk about this?” 

Keith reeled back as if slapped, and turned on his heel to bolt from the room. He paused at the doorway to give Shiro one last betrayed look.

“You know where to find me when you want to talk.” Shiro offered, knowing his words would probably only make Keith mad right now. But he needed to hear it, and Shiro only hoped that he would admit how he really felt sooner rather than later. At least to himself.

Keith fled, not knowing his destination but wanting to avoid contact with pretty much everyone else. His feet seemed to know the way, as his useless brain just spiraled more and more out of control. His feelings for Lance? He didn’t… he couldn’t… Keith could hardly comprehend the thought when he caught sight of the mark on his arm again. Even if he wanted to run away from all of this, that one simple mark brought the truth crashing back into his reality. 

He could run from himself and his fellow paladins but he couldn’t run from the truth. It always has a funny way of catching up to you. He slid down the wall of a nameless corridor, tired from his own subconscious denial.

Keith brushed a thumb against the mark slowly, almost reverently. The skin there was smooth to the touch but his fingertips tingled at the contact filling him with a warm safe feeling. Images of Lance swam through his mind, his wild carefree piloting, his sassy smiles, his atrocious hand gestures and jokes. Keith struggled to understand the meaning, even when it was sitting right in front of him. 

Was this what home felt like? He has so many questions, and very few answers. Keith felt like the only thing he knew for sure was that he didn’t want to let this feeling go.

* * *

While Lance had planned to wallow in his room as long as possible the following morning, he was rudely interrupted in the middle of an extended facial routine by Pidge who did knock, but then just barged in anyway without waiting for an answer.

“Hey Lance, group meeting in 5!” Pidge announced. “Apparently Coran is already back from talking to the elders or something.” 

“Can’t you see I’m busy?! Beauty doesn’t just happen you know?” Lance grumbled, but knew Allura would not be happy if he made them all wait. He quickly rinsed and followed Pidge to the meeting hall pouting, still in his robes and blue lion slippers.

“Good morning Lance, Pidge.” Allura greeted as they came to join the group. “Now that we’re all together, Coran if you would please!”

“Yes of course princess!” Coran said, at attention as always. “I managed to speak with the elders of the temple this morning and found out some valuable information that I think you will both be happy to hear!” he clapped his hands together with a flourish as he waited for everyone to finish getting seated.

Lance barely dared to glance at Keith as he came into the room, his pulse speeding up considerably when he actually saw the red paladin. Keith looked like he hadn’t slept much, and also like he was ignoring pretty much everyone around him like it was going out of style. Lance attempted a halfhearted wave, but only because he figured it would go unnoticed. (Which it did.) 

“As it turns out, all of our previous information was correct. Keith, Lance you are indeed marked with a soulmates bond.” Both boys just seemed to turn beet red at this declaration, neither one arguing like they had yesterday. Coran pressed on. “However, we did not have all of the information. You Lance, only completed half of the bonding ceremony. There is still a second half you would need to perform in order to finalize your bond.”

Lance glanced up at Coran, shifting nervously. “What happens if we don’t complete it?” he asked, hoping his question didn’t sound too suspicious.

“Well, you only have 1 moon cycle to complete your bond, which in this planet’s time and atmosphere is about 7 days, of which you have 6 left. After that time an unfinished bond will simply fade over the following days leaving you unattached.”

Keith didn’t like the sound of unattached, a feeling of dread rather than relief pooling in his stomach.

“And, in the interest of full disclosure and no more accidental bonding, how would we go about completing it? You know… the ceremony or whatever…” Keith asks, speaking for the first time that morning. 

Lance can’t even help how fast he whips his head around to look at Keith in disbelief. 

“Once the second bondmate had been found, then they too need to cleanse and drink from the fountain at the temple. Though this part is usually accompanied with festivities and a ceremony hosted at the temple, much like a wedding in your human culture.” Coran explained, though puzzled as to why Keith would want the full details. 

Lance was glad his friends had prepared him for that analogy last night, though he was highly impressed his own face could get redder than it already was. If only you could spontaneously combust of embarrassment. 

“And if you don’t complete it the first time, could you theoretically try again?” Keith pushed, trying to fully understand the dynamics of the magic at play here. Was Lance hearing things now? 

Coran paused, considering. “While you would still be soulbound in theory as the fountain only reveals a preexisting bond and does not create it, the ceremony can not be attempted a second time and the marks could not be replicated. And as you only have one soulmate, no you really couldn’t try it again.”

“But if knowledge of the soulbond is all that matters anyway, what’s the benefit of completing a bond ceremony?” Keith continued, confused.

Coran’s expression softened as he answered, “It’s the ultimate declaration of love and commitment, the ultimate fulfillment of your fate. Your mark connects you in a way I’m pretty sure you both can already feel, and should you chose to complete the ceremony it may reveal an even deeper awareness of one another much like you have with your lions. It’s a very special bond to be given, but it’s up to you both if you want to keep it.”

Both boys fell silent in contemplation of everything Coran was telling them.

“I still want to stay near this planet until the issue is finished being resolved.” Allura announced, leaving no room for argument. “It sounds as though if you avoid the fountain you can keep the bond from fully forming if you wish, but should we require further council help is moments away. Now, how are the marks this morning?” Allura tried to sound reassuring, but was really only bringing up the elephant in the room. 

Both boys instinctively touched their marks, eyes meeting full of uncertainty. It felt a lot like drowning in a crowded room.

“It uh, feels fine.” Keith hedged, not offering a viewing or anything this morning.

“Same.” Lance chimed, wanting this conversation to end just as badly as Keith did.

“Well that's… good! That's good.” Allura smiled, clasping them both on the shoulders. “Why don’t you two take the day off to sort things out? It’s going to be a quiet week while we wait here and I’m sure your fellow paladins are more than up to the task of helping Coran and I around the castle.” She offered, but didn’t exactly allow for protest as she left, beckoning for Coran and the others to follow.

“Yea, we’ve got you covered princess.” Pidge chimed in with a helpful thumbs up in Lance’s direction as they headed out. Hunk, traitor he was just winked and followed them out.

Keith tried to send a pleading look to Shiro, but after last night the older paladin didn’t even feel bad for leaving Keith to his fate with a small wave.

Silence descended upon them, only to be broken a moment later by Lance’s stomach. 

“Uuugh, I hunger.” Lance whined, trying and failing miserably at just acting cool around Keith. He couldn’t even seriously bring himself to look at the other boy.

Keith coughed, clearing his throat before offering, “Do you want me to make you something?” 

To Lance it sounded very forced, like Keith was just following the group’s orders to spend some quality time with his unwanted soulmate. How were things even more awkward between them now than they had been before? 

“No!” Lance all but shouted. “No, I mean seriously don’t worry about me, man. I can uh, find something I’m sure.” Lance tried to explain lamely, knowing he was also making this even more weird.

“Oh.. ok.. Uh, cool.” Keith mumbled, but seemed a bit deflated at the rejection. Lance wanted to kick himself, so much for spending time together. Just as Keith turned to go, Lance called out to him.

“Keith, wait…” he started, not sure what he wanted to say just that he needed to say something. “I’m sorry for snapping at you. And… and for this whole mess. Good thing you’re not stuck with me forever, huh?” Lance tried to make light of the situation, but somehow he had misread the situation again.

Keith frowned, not as satisfied with hearing Lance admit he’d messed up as he thought he’d be. Or maybe just upset that Lance seemed to think so little of himself. He wanted to say a whole lot on that topic, but what came out was, “There are worse people to be stuck with.” It got Lance to smile at least, which somehow made the universe feel more like it should. Lance was the type of person who should always be smiling, Keith reflected. He bumped the blue paladin’s shoulder.

“Come on, let’s get some breakfast goo.” Keith suggested, herding Lance towards the kitchen whether he liked it or not. They’d never be able to sort out the future on an empty stomach after all.

“I miss coffee.” Lance grumbled, to which Keith could only laugh.

“Would you look at that, we finally agree on something.”


End file.
